Future fusion reactors will employ the D-T reaction, where deuterium and tritium are fused together releasing large amounts of energy. Deuterium can be extracted from sea water, however, there is no naturally occuring source of tritium. Therefore, tritium will be 'bred' in the fusion reactor from the transmuatation of lithium driven by the high energy neutron ejected by the D-T reaction.

To ensure sufficient tritium is generated the reactor will surrounded with a lithium containing material. Solid lithium containing ceramic pebbles are attractive breeder materials as they have a high lithium density and their low reactivity offers high levels of safety. However, the tritium may get trapped in the ceramic pebbles and should this occur the reactor will not be sustainable.

This project will use ab initio simulations to examine the behaviour of tritium in Li2TiO3 and Li4SiO4. The simulations will enable a prediction of the tritium release rate as a function of the time the pebbles are in the reactor and will enable the development of advanced breeder technologies in the UK.